Access and Opportunity: Factors Influencing AP Enrollment for Black and Hispanic/Latino Students

• In Event: Leading Under Pressure: Scholar-Practitioner Research on Equity-Minded Data Use

Abstract

For the last eight school years, if not more, Black and Hispanic/Latino students have been underrepresented in Advanced Placement (AP) courses at Mountainview High School (MHS, a pseudonym), a public high school that serves a racially and ethnically diverse student body. This constitutes an important problem of practice at MHS, given the many benefits of AP course-taking in high school. This study aimed to address this problem through the lens of equity-centered continuous improvement, asking: How might educators work together as a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to increase equitable access to AP courses through changes to the course enrollment process (i.e. automatic enrollment, student outreach, family outreach)? Drawing on principles from improvement science (Bryk et al., 2015) and organizational culture (Schein & Schein, 2017, this year-long mixed methods study convened a NIC of MHS faculty members to to explore barriers to equitable enrollment and implement iterative, research-based interventions in AP United States History. Throughout this process, the NIC engaged in data-informed efforts to revise course recommendation and enrollment processes, as well as to implement targeted outreach to students and families.

The study’s data sources included semi-structured interviews with five NIC members and five students identified for expanded enrollment, as well as projected course enrollment data for the 2025–26 school year. Analysis of the teacher interviews highlighted the value of educator collaboration, especially teachers’ appreciation for collective learning and sense of ownership over improvement processes. Teachers realized the impact their encouragement and support could have on students' course-taking decisions. Quantitative analysis of enrollment projections using relative risk ratios (e.g., Fergus, 2017) revealed a reduction in the underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic/Latino students compared to their White peers. Moreover, student interviews testified to the impact of teacher support and encouragement, parental support, and self-motivation in their course-taking decisions.

This study contributes to the literature on equity-focused leadership and practitioner inquiry by demonstrating how data can be used to address long-standing patterns of inequitable access to rigorous coursework. It also highlights the potential of school-based professional communities to work intentionally to develop more equitable futures for students by making change from within.

Authors

• Corey Dwyer, Beacon High School

• Elizabeth Leisy Stosich, Fordham University